


Growing Up

by HeyHeyArnold



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Nostalgia, POV Third Person, absurdly sweet fluff, proposal fic, small cute awkward boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27344587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeyHeyArnold/pseuds/HeyHeyArnold
Summary: Michael takes a trip down memory lane, reminiscing on the life he and Calum have created together. The reminders of their sweetest moments help to calm his nerves before he plans to pop the question on their date later that night.- Requested bya very kind anonon Tumblr -
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Calum Hood
Kudos: 1
Collections: 5SOS as The Maine





	Growing Up

**Author's Note:**

> Based on [Growing Up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI3xSk4g2PI) from my [5SOS as The Maine prompts](https://blackbutterfliescal.tumblr.com/post/620216783205482496/5sos-as-the-maine)
> 
> Find it [here](https://blackbutterfliescal.tumblr.com/post/620667721586294784/growing-up) on Tumblr ✨ Come say hi!

Knowing that Calum was going to be home any minute had Michael’s stomach in knots. The nagging anxiety in the back of his head had nearly gotten the best of him earlier in the day and he thought about calling the whole thing off. But he’d spent too long working up the nerve to chicken out now.

It had been weeks since Michael called the little Indian place around the corner to plan everything and now it was suddenly real. They had been returning to their first date spot at least once a month for years and they’d become close with the family that owned the tiny little restaurant. They could always manage to get the most secluded table in the back corner, wanting to spend their time focused on each other rather than people watching in the front windows. But tonight wasn’t like every other dinner they had there. And Michael wanted it to be perfect. He needed it to be perfect. That’s what Calum deserved.

He kept pacing about through the cramped living room with anticipation. In an attempt to ease his nerves, Michael walked to the bedroom in the quiet loft he shared with his boyfriend and stood in the full length mirror, smoothing out his shirt for the fifteenth time. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths trying to calm down, but he couldn’t help how jittery he felt. He knew that there was no reason to be so on edge. But he just couldn’t stop his hands from fidgeting.

With one last exhale, his eyes fluttered open and he glanced around the room, hoping to find something to ground him. If Calum came home to find him this antsy, he would immediately know that Michael was planning something. Michael’s eyes landed on the picture board on the wall beside the bed. A sweet, nostalgic smile spread across his lips as he moved around the foot of the bed. His fingertips floated over the messy collage of concert tickets and boarding passes and saved love notes before he landed on the pictures Luke had given them when they moved in here. The curly blonde was always sneaking pictures whenever he thought no one was looking and now he was getting paid to put his well-honed photography skills to good use. Michael couldn’t be more proud as he reminisced on his love story with Calum, spread out on the picture board before him.

The first picture his eyes landed on was of the fire pit in his parents’ backyard. Calum had convinced the boys to go to the senior formal as a group that day, promising they’d have a good time together. None of them had given it much thought amongst all the other senior week activities and they had run out of time to find proper dates. In the scramble to find suits that afternoon, not a single one of them managed to find something that fit, but they couldn’t have cared less. They danced to nearly every song, jumping around to the up-tempo pop songs and paying no mind to the judgemental stares as all four of them swayed to ballads together. When the boys didn’t want the fun to end that night, they wound up at Michael’s house getting drunk on the cheapest beer they could pick up on the way with their fake IDs. Ashton had tried to build a pyramid out of all the empty cans, which Calum accidentally knocked over. The photograph Luke had stealthily taken showed all three boys lounging around the fire in Michael’s overly baggy sweats. Michael remembered the panic he felt in his chest when he saw his clothes hanging off Calum’s small frame. He recalled that at some point he’d brought out his acoustic guitar to show off what he’d been practicing in his lessons but the boys all teased him because the only song he could remember was Wonderwall. The four of them got more drunk than they’d ever been and stayed up until the first rays of light began to creep across the sky, talking about everything and anything. Like many other nights before, when they finally decided to get some sleep, Luke and Ashton crashed in the living room while Calum crawled into bed beside Michael. Something was different about that night, though. It could have been the copious amounts of beer or the exhaustion from staying up all night or the uncertainty they faced after high school - it was most likely the influence of the alcohol though. Just as Michael’s eyes had closed and he began to drift off to sleep, Calum rolled over to face him and placed the lightest kiss on Michael’s rosy lips. Calum had started to apologize, but he was quickly cut off with a sweet kiss before Michael pulled him into his chest and gave in to sleep.

Michael’s fingers fell across the board, over a postcard and a small pride flag sticker, before they stopped on a picture from high school graduation of a very surprised Calum wrapped tightly in Michael’s arms. Michael had dreaded seeing Calum that day - nearly a week after they’d seen each other last - nearly a week after that very drunken kiss. All four of them were going to the same college a few months later and Michael had worried that having Calum as his roommate would be awkward now. They’d been best friends as long as he could remember and the last thing he would have wanted was to lose Calum over what he figured to be a drunken mistake. When Michael had arrived, graduation cap and gown in hand, he found the other three boys already talking together. Awkwardness had been quick to take over the conversation before Calum pulled Michael away from Luke and Ashton. Calum was shy but he was never one to back away from confrontation. Michael expected that he would want to forget it ever happened, but instead Calum spilled his heart out. He told Michael that he hadn’t stopped thinking about their kiss and how he wanted them to go to college together as more than just friends. When the shock had disappeared from Michael’s face, he practically lept at Calum, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and saying that nothing would make him happier than to be his boyfriend. Ever the charmer, Luke had snapped a picture and shouted something about it taking them long enough. Michael and Calum couldn’t be bothered to care but it left Ashton in a fit of giggles.

Michael scanned further down the board, feeling his smile grow as the tension left his shoulders and the butterflies in his stomach settled. He found a picture from one of the many college weekends spent at the beach. They had passed so much time at the pier, cruising the shops and soaking in the sunshine. The particular weekend in the picture, Michael had soaked in a little too much sun, though. By that point in their relationship, Calum had become used to helping Michael keep his back from burning while they were out all day. But the week before had consisted of particularly rough midterms and they were both exhausted. So exhausted that they’d fallen asleep sprawled out on their loungers after Luke and Ashton left to get food and beer. When they returned, Luke whipped out his camera and Ashton made the mistake of trying to wake Michael up by poking his very pink shoulder, which caused Michael to jump straight up out of his chair. If looks could kill, Ashton would have been a dead man. As always, Calum was there to keep him grounded. Calum had spent the whole week afterward apologizing to Michael and helping him keep aloe on the sunburnt skin so it wouldn’t hurt so bad. It didn’t seem to matter how many times Michael reassured him that there was no one to blame, Calum continued to apologize with every aloe application.

Continuing to find comfort in Calum, Michael landed on the last picture Luke had given them. It was a particularly proud day for them as they stood in front of their brand new loft, homeowners for the first time. The exhaustion from moving was evident on their faces, but Luke had insisted on a picture to commemorate the occasion. When Ashton made a joke about them being “homo-owners” now, they’d cracked smiles from ear to ear and laughed until their sides ached. Luke and Ashton had helped them bring in all their hand-me-downs from the college apartment before the four of them sat around the empty living room floor, celebrating with cheap alcohol and greasy pizza. The place was small and mismatched at first, but they had spent the last two years making it a home they were proud of, one piece at a time.

Michael dropped his eyes from the memories pinned up in front of him and ran a hand over his scruff thoughtfully. Warmth spread through his chest as he looked around him, seeing bits of Calum running through every part of his life. He picked up the small velvet box from the nightstand at his side, prying it open with a toothy grin. The band was simple and he only hoped Calum would be proud to wear it. Proud to call Michael his fiance tonight. Soon proud to call him his husband.

Michael heard the lock on the front door quietly click as Calum called out for him. He closed the ring box and slid it into his pocket, composing himself and sparing one last glance at the tokens on the wall. Michael’s nerves were completely gone, replaced with an eagerness to get to the dinner he had planned, to slide this ring on his boyfriend’s finger, and to spend the rest of his life giving everything he had to the man in the other room.


End file.
